Cybercriminals, Beware!

Chinese authorities say they’ve arrested more than 10,000 suspects and busted 600 criminal gangs in the country’s latest cybercrime crackdown.  While claiming to focus on pornography and the illegal sale of personal details, many fear it’s a thinly veiled attempt to censor online criticism of the government.  As of June, China’s Ministry of Public Security said 3.2 million “harmful” messages were deleted and 30 internet service providers punished for giving unlicensed sites access.  Chinese local authorities were also doing their own clean-up: Beijing’s police force said it arrested more than 5,000 people suspected of internet-related crims and closed 263 internet cafes “to protect the physical and mental health of young people.”

Read more on the BBC.